


Preservation

by dancey94



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Birthday, Gifts, Kissing, Love, M/M, Post-Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb, Romance, milk bath
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 20:27:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17874305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancey94/pseuds/dancey94
Summary: Hannibal prepared a range of surprises for Will's birthday. He starts with getting his murder husband relaxed before the big day.





	Preservation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Evertonem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evertonem/gifts), [Ferris_Eris](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ferris_Eris/gifts).



> well, I want to thank Sarah for her words of encouragement, and people from #rdc5 for keeping me inspired  
> also - if You haven't heard yet (HOW?!) then You need to know that there is another anthology book coming soon  
> the campaign has already started so please [check it out!](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lovecrimecat/ravage-an-infernal-hannibal-anthology)

Once in a while, a lazy day occurred. After all those years of chasing and being chased, they both deserved a break. Having an uneventful day full of domestic chores and not doing anything particularly engaging had been a rare blessing that they allowed themselves more often now.

There was no rush. There were far fewer plates and utensils to be washed – no more fancy parties and feasts, thank you very much. There was a small garden that didn’t require constant attention. Finally, there was a familiar need to chop wood which Will had practised to perfection.

After a lazy day devoid of murder, taking care of a body and getting rid of the evidence, there usually came a lazy evening and a lazy night. Will would make flies – a hobby that he could never deprive himself of – or read or look out for any strays that might come their way. Hannibal would occasionally join him.

This evening, however, Hannibal disappeared from Will’s view right after supper, carrying the plates to the kitchen. Silently, Will retired to the porch, glad he was spared washing the dishes. Not that he really hated that particular chore. He just wasn’t in the right headspace that evening to be bothered. He’d leave them for the next day if he had to. Luckily, he didn’t have to.

The air was chill in the evenings but you could feel the weight of the whole day, the density of people’s breaths and words exchanged. Even though they lived far enough to enjoy the isolation, they could still see the lights on in the distance. Deep down, it made Will feel safe. The lights were a sign of life, even if in a remote location.

Will inhaled loudly the scent of soil and trees as he leaned over the rail. He stared into the distance as if expecting something to happen. It was quiet, too quiet for his taste. He’d got used to both peaceful existence far from civilisation and being constantly in the spotlight, followed. That he could cherish the former now with Hannibal was more than he could ask for.

There were no expectations – every last of them had been surpassed. Except, but Will didn’t know that yet, there were some expectations.

“We’ve always lived under the same sky,” Will heard Hannibal’s voice, low and clear.

“Do you imagine sometimes what would be if we didn’t?”

Hannibal was silent for a moment. Then, he stepped closer and leant over the rail next to Will, mirroring his pose. “Are you asking if there’d be another version of Will Graham if not you?”

“I’m asking if you ever…consider yourself lucky…to have met me. No, that’s not…I know you do.”

“I do,” Hannibal confirmed with a faint smile.

“Had we not met, all this time ago, back at Jack’s office, do you sometimes wonder where you would be today?”

“Occasionally, I may spare a thought, but I don’t indulge in living in a parallel universe. This is the one we’re in now. You and I.”

Will found it difficult not to smile at the sound of that. You and I. The multiverse offered so many different Will Grahams but in this world he was the one. He was the only one that could understand Hannibal. He was his equal.

“I’ve prepared something for you,” Hannibal said without shifting his gaze.

Will’s eyebrows rose in a silent question. A surprise?

“Come with me.” Hannibal turned and offered Will a hand. So Will took it and followed Hannibal, straight onto the bathroom’s doorstep. “I know it’s not until tomorrow…”

Will reached for the knob and pushed the door open. He was tempted to close his eyes, genuinely scared of whatever he might see, but he refrained. Instead, when his eyes caught the sight and his brain registered what he was seeing, Will chuckled.

There were rose petals scattered on the floor tiles. Two roses lay on the edge of the bathtub. The room was lit by scented candles lying all over the place. There was a bottle of wine and two glasses on the cupboard.

“And here I was, believing it was beneath you,” Will responded to the sight.

“Love has never been beneath me,” Hannibal said with a tone of indignation. “Nor are any ways of expressing it.”

“I mean such cheesy gestures.”

“Would you rather if there was a body in the bath and blood instead of roses?”

“That I would know how to respond to.”

“And this?” Hannibal’s hand landed on Will’s shoulder. For a brief moment Will was rendered speechless and motionless. He wished for the hand on his shoulder to squeeze, to remind him it was still there. There was comfort in those gestures.

When it didn’t happen, Will put his own palm on Hannibal’s hand. As he did so, something caught his eye. There were also rose petals in the bathtub, and they were flowing. But there was no water. Will’s eyes narrowed as he stepped closer, completely disregarding the hand on his shoulder.

The bathtub was not empty. It was filled with a porcelain-white liquid.

Milk.

That pretentious bastard.

“Want to preserve my silk-like skin?”

“I want to cherish it,” Hannibal replied, his voice close to Will’s ear.

“Want to enjoy it?”

“Yes.” Bold. “I was hoping you would allow me this pleasure.” Even bolder. But had there ever been a time when Hannibal was anything less than bold?

“Want to be my servant tonight?” Will didn’t turn to see Hannibal’s expression. He could tell by the ever so slightest hitch in Hannibal’s breathing that the suggestion was received with enthusiasm. “Well, then…attend me.”

The words were uttered with little emotion and could hardly be heard as an order but Will found himself being touched in no time. First, Hannibal stood right in front of Will and looked him up and down. Then, the strong, skilled hands wandered to Will’s collar and unbuttoned the first button.

There was precision in the movement and barely any affection so far. Another button was undone with Hannibal’s eyes focused solely on the task, as if there could be severe consequences to his failure.

The shirt being unbuttoned completely, Hannibal reached for Will’s left wrist and undid the button there. Then, the other one. Will was observing all that with almost obsessive attention. He’d been taken care of by Hannibal many times before at that point, but this was different. This was a surrender. And even though it was Will who wasn’t moving, who offered his body to be taken care of, it was nevertheless Hannibal who surrendered.

Before parting the shirt to remove it, Hannibal looked Will in the eye, searching for something. And so Will gave it, too, freely. A slightest nod and the shirt dropped to the floor onto soft rose petals.

The next logical step was to remove trousers. But before Hannibal reached for Will’s belt, he gave a proud look at Will’s torso. Yes, it was still there – the smile Will’d been left with. The strip of skin that would never get tanned, that would remain forever the same, unlike Will.

“I’m getting cold, Hannibal,” Will said with a smirk. Truth be told, he was curious about the milk bath. And he was curious about the arrangement Hannibal had in mind. Would he just hop in with Will?

“Of course.”

Having snapped out of it, Hannibal lost the belt and then unzipped Will’s trousers. In a flash, they joined the shirt on the floor.

So there they were. With Hannibal fully clothed and Will waiting to be disrobed further. There was only one item that once removed would allow Will to dive into that luxurious milk bath.

To Will’s surprise, Hannibal moved to stand behind him. Only then did he grasp the elastic of Will’s underwear and pulled.

Alright.

At this point it was unnecessary. It wasn’t a case of modesty or privacy. It was a case of a sweet spot Hannibal had for Will’s ass. Not that _that_ was surprising.

“Do you need a hand?” Hannibal asked and Will could swear there was that smug expression on his face as he did so.

“I can manage.”

With that, Will lifted his right leg and put it inside the bathtub. As he felt the milk on his toe, he shivered. Not because of the temperature of the liquid, no, but because he was on the verge of a new experience – one that felt oddly taboo. It wasn’t exactly a blood bath kind of thing – Batory style – but there was still some element of indecency in using milk instead of water for a bath. Sure, people with enough money and fantasy might think of it as nothing unusual but Will was not one of them.

“You spoil me,” Will said and stepped into the bath fully. Then, slowly, he lowered himself to sit down. As he descended, he felt the warm milk wash over his skin. It was marvellous. The smooth, silky liquid poured over his whole body and tickled his senses. For the briefest of moments he forgot that Hannibal was still in the room.

Suddenly, it appeared funny to him – the entire scene he found himself a part of: him in a bathtub, like a large pot, filled with an edible dairy product. He was a meal.

With a smile, he turned to watch Hannibal kneel down by the tub.

“Do you often wonder how I’d taste?” Will asked as he leant against the back of the tub.

“Not as often as I once did.”

“You were so close,” Will said, moving his head to the side to see Hannibal’s face. There was a faint smile there.

“Will you allow me to wash your back?”

“I believe you’re obliged to, as my servant.”

With that, Will bent his legs and leant forward to put his arms around them. That way, he offered full access to his back which was surprisingly the least scarred part of his body.

He wasn’t watching but he felt and heard when Hannibal took a sponge and soaked it in milk. Then, Will felt the liquid on his nape, flowing down his shoulders, collarbones and shoulder blades. A break to soak up the sponge again and a new portion of warm milk was poured over Will’s skin. The sponge grazed over the scar on his left shoulder, then wandered down his arm until it sunk again.

“So close,” Will whispered, echoing his previous observation.

A less than dramatic sigh followed. Then, as the sponge rested on his nape and the milk kept flowing down his back, Will felt a gentle pressure being applied to his left shoulder blade. As the pressure shifted upward, Will recognised the rough texture of Hannibal’s tongue over his skin. Then, the trail was finalised with a kiss on the nape.

Will turned his head to glance at Hannibal. “So, you _did_ turn me into a meal.”

“And you taste as delectable as you would have, had I managed to cut you open.”

There was not even a hint of remorse or regret. None.

“No need for that anymore, is there?” Will asked, not entirely convinced that it was true. Then again, what Hannibal was tasting now was not even close to the taste of flesh or brains or whatever he had been about to consume before Mason’s henchmen showed up.

“You think you escaped my forgiveness?”

“I think I like _this_ better.” Will pointed at the surface of the bath.

“This is just preparation,” Hannibal announced, pride loud and clear in his voice.

“For a grand feast?”

“Yes,” Hannibal replied. Bold. Unabashed.

“I’m almost honoured that you bothered.”

“Almost?” Hannibal sounded truly taken aback.

“I am your most devoted eater at the moment and your love for food, I think, is level with your love for me. You wouldn’t survive if you couldn’t throw a dinner party from time to time.”

“This one will be special.”

“How so?”

“It’s a surprise. Now, please, lean back.”

“Thorough, are you?”

“Of course.”

Hannibal soaked up the sponge again and pressed it in the hollow of Will’s throat. The milk flowed down his chest, creating multiple paths, the widest of which was the one running between his pecs and trickling down back to its source. The skin on his stomach was tickling, his nipples were getting harder. There seemed to be a range of experiences resulting from just one bath.

“You can’t preserve me. Can’t put me in amber and keep me forever.” Not exactly true. Will almost bit his tongue as he was saying that because he was prompting ideas that _could_ be realised. Well, too late now.

“This isn’t about preservation,” Hannibal replied, not taking eyes off Will’s chest. “It’s about pleasure.”

“Well, in that case…” Will put his hands under the surface of the milk and rubbed his fingers. Then, swiftly, he turned and put his wet palms on Hannibal’s smooth cheeks. As he leant in, he focused on the texture under his fingertips. If anything, it was Hannibal who was worth preserving – physically and otherwise.

When their lips met, Will felt the sponge drop onto his stomach as a wet hand grabbed his wrist – not to remove it, but rather to keep it firmly in place. After Will felt the plump soft lips on his, he knew what else was worth preserving. He could taste sweetness of the milk on Hannibal’s lips which was intoxicating.

Will felt compelled to deepen the kiss. He craved the knowledge that came with the mutual desire to devour each other. Literally. He craved the knowledge that came with kissing. There were so many questions in his mind needing answering and now was his chance.

As his tongue touched Hannibal’s, it dawned on Will that _this_ was what they could have been doing when they’d been seeing each other all those years prior. They could have taken advantage of the privacy of Hannibal’s office or of the reclusive nature of Will’s house. With a smile, Will even dared imagining an unlikely make out session in Hannibal’s Bentley.

Suddenly, there were lips in the corner of Will’s mouth and then they were gone.

“I was hoping for that to happen only tomorrow,” Hannibal whispered.

“And I was just thinking we should have done that a long time ago.” With that, Will was about to turn away but Hannibal stopped him short.

“Let’s not try to reverse time again, shall we?”

“The only way to move is forward?”

“For now.”

Will nodded and relaxed against the cool back wall of the bath. “Care to join me, then?”


End file.
